Company Michael

This article deals with the German offensive of 1918. For the film of the same name, see Company Michael (film) .

Company Michael

Part of: German Spring Offensive 1918

date	March 21 to April 6, 1918
place	Northern France, Somme area
output	German advance is stuck, is canceled.

Parties to the conflict
German Empire	United Kingdom of France
Commander
Erich Ludendorff Otto von Below Oskar von Hutier Georg von der Marwitz	Ferdinand Foch Georges Humbert Marie-Eugène Debeney Douglas Haig Hubert Gough
Troop strength
2nd , 17th and 18th Armies (73 divisions , on March 21st 56 divisions were in attack) about 950,000 men	English 3rd and 5th Army, French 3rd Army, 26 English and 7 French divisions on March 21, about 700,000 men
losses
239,558 men, including 35,163 dead, 181,694 wounded, 22,701 missing	254,700 dead, wounded and missing, of which 177,739 British and 76,961 French losses

In the offensive known as Enterprise Michael or Kaiserschlacht , the German Reich tried in March and April 1918 to force a military victory on the Western Front against the Entente powers. The British referred to the battle as the Second Battle of Somme , and the Germans also referred to it as the Great Battle of France . A total of 73 divisions with one million men were used in the German March Offensive. The Supreme Army Command intended to break through on both sides of the Somme via Amiens to the sea, to separate the French front at the interface with the British and to push the English to the north. Already on the first day of the enterprise, March 21st, the opponent's defense was broken. Two of the three deployed armies were able to achieve a tactical breakthrough on both sides of St. Quentin and penetrate up to 20 kilometers deep on a broad front in the first three days, smashing the British 5th Army . Although the attack by the army to the north did not advance, the High Command with its instructions of March 23 and 26 significantly expanded the objectives of the operation. But with that the operation diverged in a radial pattern and lost its initial momentum. At the end of March the advance began to stall due to French and British counterattacks. An area about 80 kilometers wide and 65 kilometers deep had been conquered, but the possession of the terrain , which had been disrupted in previous battles , was only a disadvantage from a military point of view. Field Marshal Douglas Haig was able to call in a further 8 British divisions, so that he had 46 infantry divisions and 3 cavalry divisions in the attack section and was able to stabilize the new front line in counter-attacks between Montdidier and Amiens. On April 5, the deadlocked operation was canceled by the Germans, and new efforts were made for the offensive that followed in Flanders on the Lys .

Overall situation around the turn of the year 1917/1918

Kaiser Wilhelm II with Hindenburg and Ludendorff in Spa

The successful counterattack at the Battle of Cambrai in early December 1917 had shown the Supreme Army Command that the British could still be defeated despite their new tanks . At the end of 1917, Russia and Romania were forced to an armistice on the Eastern Front, and the Brest-Litovsk peace negotiations were nearing completion. The Third Battle of Flanders in the second half of 1917 had brought the British little land gains and high losses. After the disastrous Nivelle offensive of April 1917, the French did not appear offensively for most of the year. Of course, the Germans were not informed about the cause of this, the massive mutinies in the French army in 1917 , and believed in a general weakening that was responsible for it. The main enemy, they believed, was the British Army, which now had to be driven from the continent. After the Battle of Karfreit on the Italian front, the Allies had to deploy extensive reinforcements to Italy in autumn 1917 in order to prevent the ally from collapsing. This additionally thinned the forces on the western front. All in all, the prerequisites for a decisive offensive in the war seemed quite favorable.

The German army command under Hindenburg and Ludendorff was aware that the last promising chance for victory on the western front had dawned. A number of divisions on the Eastern Front had been transported to France since the beginning of the year and were trained in attack for the planned spring offensive. The strategic goal of the German offensive was to achieve a breakthrough at the seam between French and British troops, to drive a wedge between the opponents and to recapture the Somme area vacated in 1917. The attack had to lead quickly to success, because every month new American divisions were landed, which would quickly reverse the short phase of superiority. Since the beginning of February the British had extended their front south to La Fère in order to give the French sufficient opportunity to build up their own reserves again. For this purpose the British 5th Army had cleared the entire French 1st Army in the area west of Saint-Quentin .

Reorganization of the western army

Structure of the German Western Front after the reorganization of January 1918

At the beginning of 1918 there were 153 German divisions with 2.3 million men on the western front, against 173 Allied divisions with 3.2 million men. At the Entente there were 99 French, 59 English, 12 Belgian, 2 Portuguese and 1 fighting American divisions on French soil. The organization of the German Western Army was restructured on January 24, 1918, between the 6th and 2nd Army a newly formed 17th Army under General Otto von Below was inserted in the Cambrai area . The Northern Army Group, Crown Prince Rupprecht, was now subordinate to the 4th , 6th , 17th and 2nd Armies. The right wing of the central Army Group of the German Crown Prince was then subordinated to the newly established 18th Army under Oskar von Hutier in the St. Quentin area. The 7th , 1st and 3rd Armies followed to the southeast . The 5th Army , previously subordinate to the German Crown Prince , was transferred to the newly formed Army Group Gallwitz . With the Army Group Duke Albrecht , which formed the southern wing up to the Swiss border, the new 19th Army was formed under General von Bothmer . After reinforcements from the Eastern Front and from Italy (about 39 divisions), the Supreme Army Command had 192 divisions at its disposal in mid-March; this gave the Germans the numerical advantage for a short time.

The "Michael Offensive" should force the breakthrough to the Somme on the Péronne - Ham line , the attacks "Mars" and "Archangel" should take place later and only be initiated after the regrouping of the heavy artillery. Carrying out the "Mars attack" simultaneously on the north bank of the Scarpe was dropped before the Ludendorff offensive began, in order to clearly focus on the inner wings of the middle army group. In the event that the Michael offensive did not succeed, Ludendorff had planned another attempt to break through in Flanders. Under the code name "Georg I", the 6th Army under General von Quast had to prepare an attack on the Armentières - Estaires line via the Lys by the beginning of April. In the "Georg II" operation, the 4th Army to the north was to deploy south of Ypres at the same time . The right wing of the German Crown Prince Army Group had to work out operations "Hector" and "Achilles" in the event of a French counter-offensive in Champagne and a counterattack "Roland" in the eastern part of Champagne. A pincer attack by the 5th Army on both sides of Verdun (companies "Castor" and "Pollux"), with the main thrust through the Argonne on Clermont , should be presented by the Gallwitz Army Group.

Location by the Entente

Field Marshal Douglas Haig, photo from 1924

According to reports from the Army Intelligence Service, the British Commander-in-Chief in Northern France, Sir Douglas Haig , learned on March 19 that the enemy's preparations for the attack on the Arras - St. Quentin line were about to be completed . or March 21st. The situation was assessed to the effect that the German attack was to be expected both at Armentières - La Bassée and between Arras and St. Quentin.

According to the German estimate, the strength of the British combat front comprised 29 infantry divisions and 3 cavalry divisions, and a further 19 infantry divisions were assumed to be in reserve. Opposite the German Crown Prince Army Group , the enemy reserves were estimated at 20 French infantry and 10 cavalry divisions (4 of them British), as well as 2 to 3 British and 1 American infantry divisions. Although 329,000 Americans were already under the command of General John Pershing on the Western Front at this time , they were not yet fully operational. Of 7 American divisions, 3 were training at the front, the rest were still in the stage.

The British front had been weakened in northern Flanders in anticipation of the attack in mid-March, but was considerably strengthened at Armentières, Loos and Arras . Between Arras and La Fère there were only 22 British infantry divisions in the front line, a further 12 infantry and 3 cavalry divisions were immediately available from the reserve in the hinterland. Another 8 British divisions were already approaching as a precaution to reinforce them south.

• The British 3rd Army (about 330,000 men) under General Julian Byng held a front about 45 kilometers long from north to south from Gavrelle to Gouzeaucourt with 20 divisions. The average front length of each division was 4700 meters.
• The British 5th Army (about 175,000 men) under General Hubert Gough extended the front from Gouzeaucourt to about 70 kilometers south of Barisis . It had 12 infantry and 3 cavalry divisions, 1650 guns, 119 tanks and 357 aircraft at the front.

Over 15 kilometers of this front between Amigny-Rouy and Alaincourt were protected by the Oise and the Oise Canal. The average front length of each division was 6750 meters. On the north wing the VII. And XIX. Corps, the center was from the XVII. Corps held, on the south wing the III. Corps the connection to the French Army Group Fayolle .

• The French 3rd Army under General Georges Humbert stood south of it between La Fère and Noyon , with 7 divisions in the front, behind them 2 infantry and 3 cavalry divisions and three tank battalions. The French 5th, 34th and 36th Corps Command were in command.

Attack instructions

Between Cambrai in the north and La Fère in the south, three German armies with 73 divisions stood ready to attack over a width of 75 kilometers. Of these, 56 were attack divisions (about 840,000 men), behind them another 17 divisions were ready to push. Opposite the Germans there were only 26 British and 7 French divisions in the front section of the attack. On the northern wing, 3 further divisions remained defensive for the later planned “Mars II attack”.

17th Army

The northern 17th Army under Otto von Below had to break through in Operation "Michael I" in the direction northeast of Bapaume . After the success in Operation "Mars II", the northern wing of the 17th Army was to participate in the planned attack of the 6th Army south of the Scarpe .

The army held a front 18 kilometers north of the Cambrai Arch; it had 25 divisions (including 4 position divisions), 2,234 artillery pieces, 1,197 mortars and 380 aircraft. On the north wing of the 17th Army, the "Mars attack" was to be prepared on both sides of the Scarpe, which should enable the Michael attack to continue via the Arras- Péronne line . The south wing of the 17th Army had to force the breakthrough and cut off the strong British forces in the Cambrai arch.

2nd Army

The 2nd Army under Georg von der Marwitz , assigned in the middle , had to proceed with the left wing north of the Omignon stream in the "Michael II" operation and break through to Péronne. The center in the Cambrai arch should initially remain defensive and the Hold the main mass of the British concentrated in front of the front.

The starting position of the 2nd Army was directed to the south-west and reached from the area of Marcoing in the north to Bellenglise in the south. The 2nd Army had to attack from the Le Cateau area of the Villers-Guislain -Bellenglise front line in a westerly direction, with the aim of conquering Péronne. With a front length of 27 kilometers, the army had 21 divisions (11 in the front, 9 in reserve, 1 division in transport), 1,751 artillery pieces, 1,080 mine throwers, 11 battle, 10 fighter and 3 bomber squadrons with 340 aircraft. In front of them the 2nd Army had hilly terrain that was crossed by the Cologne brook, which flows into the Somme at Péronne . The southern boundary of this army was formed by the Omignon , which ran parallel to the Cologne and the Somme . The northern third up to the right border of the army was formed by the Cambrai front arch indented to the east.

Since the west front of it attack field between Sailly-Saillisel -Péronne- Chaulnes for destruction field of Somme battlefield belonged, there were expected for nachzuziehende heavy army equipment and replenishment particular difficulties. The south-north course of the Somme River, which curves to the west at Péronne, was about 23 kilometers from the German position. In the northern part, about the same distance upstream, was the Tortille Brook, which, coming from the north, flows into the Somme west of Péronne. The area was still littered with shell holes, the streets were torn by countless trenches, the abandoned villages were largely destroyed, almost all the forests were completely cleared or shot to stumps.

The middle of the 2nd Army, the group Kathen ( XXIII. Reserve Corps ) and Group Gontard ( XIV. Army Corps ) had to break through with all their might to the west against the line Manancourt –Péronne, tactically reinforced in the north by a Cooperation of the inner army wings of the two armies, through the attacking at Ytres XI. Army Corps (Group Kuehne) and at Équancourt operating XIII. Army Corps (Watter Group). Initially, only partial attacks should be made against the Cambrai arch: the XXXIX. Reserve Corps (Staabs group) had to deceive the enemy about the focus of the attack and to attract his local reserves by attacks in the area west of Marcoing and against the heights north of La Vacquerie . The Watter group should be set against the Vaucelette-Ferme and the northern part of Épehy and encounter Équancourt.

18th Army

The south-standing 18th Army under Oskar von Hutier had under the code name "Michael III" instruction, south of Omignon -Baches on either side of St. Quentin focused on Amiens to push. The focus was set on the right wing, because the main thrust was planned to be supported by the 2nd Army attacking Péronne from the north .

The 18th Army had 30 kilometers of exit front, had 27 divisions (including 5 position divisions), 2,623 artillery pieces, 1,257 mortars and 350 aircraft. The army was assigned the breakthrough north of St. Quentin and at La Fère, the French should not succeed in bringing reinforcements to the British oppressed in the north via the Roye - Chaulnes and Montdidier - Amiens railway .

The aim of the 18th Army was to break through on both sides of St. Quentin from Pontruet to the Oise near Hamégicourt . The army's first objective would be to reach the Somme and Crozat canals between the Omignon estuary and the Oise. The established French reserves would have to be tied up by the 18th Army and pushed back on the advance to the south. The main attack of the 18th Army was to be initiated by a first local advance of the southern wing group Gayl on La Fère.

7th Army

The 7th Army on the far left wing of the battle front had to prepare a diversionary attack "Archangel" south of the Oise and at the Ailette if the main operations south of La Fère failed .

Final preparations for the attack

On March 20, when the weather was cloudy but later cleared up, there was little artillery activity on the entire front. The last preparations for the attack took place on the night of March 21st in complete calm. On the day before the battle, the German army with 56 attack divisions and 1706 batteries was ready to attack on a 75-kilometer front. The supreme command of the attack remained with the Supreme Army Command itself. The Supreme Army Command retained around 17 divisions as tactical reserves. On the following morning of March 21st at 04:40 am, the armed forces of the attacking armies began to prepare for artillery in thick fog . A fire from 6608 artillery pieces (3965 field guns, 2643 heavy cannons and howitzers) and 3532 mortars cleared the way for the attacking infantry. The German Air Force was attacking stripes with 1,070 aircraft about twice as strong as the Royal Flying Corps of the British.

Overall armed forces from both sides involved

The first day of the battle on March 21st

Outline sketch for the Michael company

The attack of the 18th Army - Battle of St. Quentin

Oskar von Hutier (1920)

The artillery of the 18th Army opened the battle at 4:40 a.m. after the strong fire. The gassing of the enemy artillery positions began at 5:50 a.m. The artillery commander of the 18th Army, Colonel Bruchmüller directed an effective artillery fire; the enemy was held down by the fire until the infantry had reached their positions. The enemy trenches were covered with a high, concentrated rate of fire, and heavy, far-reaching shallow fire was directed against the enemy artillery positions. The Germans had concentrated over 3,600 guns and grenade launchers; English eyewitnesses described the bombing as "a wall of orange flames" and "a sea of ​​fire". With the onset of the fire roller , all types of fire were concentrated on the area immediately in front of the attacking infantry; according to a precise schedule, this line of fire was moved further forward, whereupon the infantry immediately moved into the previously painted area. Divided into 27 divisions, General Hutier launched attacks in several waves. The first wave was carried out with 13 divisions, the second with 9 divisions, followed by 5 divisions as reserves. The divisions of the first meeting from the line Bellenglise - western apron from St. Quentin-Hamegicourt followed the fire roller closely. The infantry attack of the general commandos Lüttwitz (III.), Oetinger (IX.) And Webern (XVII.) Took place around 9.40 a.m. Group Conta IV. Reserve Corps and Group Gayl extended south to the left front wing south of La Fère . In the La Fère area, hunter battalions had already crossed the Oise at around 6.15 a.m. and were supported by the 47th Reserve Division . The 7th Army with the 8th Reserve Corps on the Oise and in the Noyon section took over the protection of the left flank of the German 18th Army against the French . The attack of the Gayl group (13th Landwehr and 47th Reserve Division) advancing on the left wing pushed the British 18th Division back onto the Bois de Frières. The opposite front on both sides of St. Quentin was from the British XVIII. Corps (General Maxse ) held with the 30th and 36th Divisions , from Hamegicourt to La Fère held the III. Corps (General Richard Butler ) with three (14th, 18th and 58th) other divisions. On the left wing of the 18th Army, Group Conta (Gen. Kdo. IV. Res.K.) with the 34th and 37th Divisions advanced deep west on the St. Quentin - La Fere road. The 103rd Division successfully attacked Fort Vendeuil. The Lüttwitz group (Gen.Kdo. III. AK ) coming from the St. Quentin area had stormed Maissema with the 113th Division (General von Bergmann) and then got into serious trouble with a British division in the Holnon Forest and in the area south of it Fighting, with the German 88th and 28th Divisions also intervening. Left of the III. Corps, the Oetinger Group (Gen. Kdo. IX. AK ) advanced on both sides of the St. Quentin-Ham road with the 50th Division , the 45th Reserve Division and the 5th Guard Division . The Webern group (Gen. Kdo. XVII. AK ) tore up the British front between Castres and Essigny-le Grand with the 238th and 36th Divisions and the 1st Bavarian Division .

British infantry awaiting attack

The British XVIII fighting on the left side of Butler Corps was thrown by the Germans, the XIX. Corps at Omignonbach and thrown back on Ham . The south wing of the 5th Gough Army, the British III. and XVIII. Corps, collapsed completely under the German onslaught. At 8:30 a.m. General Gough threw his reserves, the 20th and 50th Divisions, forward to avoid the XIXth century. (Watts) and XVIII. Reinforce Corps (Maxse). At about 1 p.m. the French General Humbert appeared at Gough headquarters and promised that his reserve divisions would intervene quickly for the next day. In the northern sector, 21 German divisions of Byng's 3rd Army had attacked 17, while 22 German divisions were deployed against only 13 divisions of the southern British 5th Army. In the 18th Army, the divisions of the second meeting were brought forward to the new starting positions. In the south, the Gayl group attacked with the 13th Landwehr Division and the 47th Reserve Division determinedly across the Oise. By evening the infantry had penetrated an average of 6 kilometers deep into the enemy front. Engineer troops of the 18th Army worked on the establishment of usable supply routes.

Attack in the center by the 2nd Army

Georg von der Marwitz

2nd Army's attack section, March 21, 1918

From his headquarters in Le Cateau, General von der Marwitz had issued the attack orders for his four attack groups: The Kathen group , which had proven successful in breaking through the front, had to force the actual major breakthrough on the Vendhuille-Hargicourt front line. Concentrating on the left wing, this corps had to gain the heights to the west of Nurlu and north of Aizecourt-le-Haut and to advance the attack with the vanguard as quickly as possible over the Tortille Brook. The group Gontard (Gen. Kdo. XIV. AK ) had in connection with the left wing of the XXIII. Reserve Corps to advance via Roisel into the area north of Péronne . With the less massed left wing, the established artillery position between Le Verguier and Pontru was to be rolled up from the north in order to facilitate the procedure for the corps to the south. The Hofacker group ( General Command 51 ), for its part, had to support the attack of the XIV Army Corps with its own action on a broad front against the heights north of Pontru (Arbre Heights). The assault artillery was reinforced to 250 field batteries, 196 heavy and 11 heaviest batteries, and a smaller number of heavy mortar batteries provided by the Austrian Army Command also participated in the attack.

At 6.30 a.m., after a three-hour artillery strike with 1,751 guns, the gas bombardment began against the enemy positions. From 7 a.m. onwards the batteries were with strong barrage against the first targets of their own infantry, in which the mine throwers also participated from 8:10 a.m. At 9:40 in the morning with a fairly clear view, the infantry rose to the storm on the route from Gonnelieu to Bellenglise under the protection of the fire roller. The attack, which was soon followed by artillery, broke through to the Epéhy - Lempire - Ronssoy - Hargicourt line and as far as the artillery defense position on both sides of Le Verguier and met with lively resistance, particularly at Épehy , which was often expressed in counter-attacks. The number of attack divisions in the 2nd Army was eleven divisions in the first, five in the second, followed by a further 4 divisions as reserves. Taking advantage of their superiority, the Germans achieved a major breakthrough within a few hours. By 10 a.m., the Germans had the first and second British positions in the southern Cambrai arc from Gonnelieu to Bellenglise . Parts of the XXXIX. Reserve corps stormed the foremost enemy trenches at Marcoing and south of it in order to shackle the enemy there. The commanding general von Staabs also led the "Corps Watter" ( Gen. Kdo. XIII. AK ) on the north wing of the 2nd Army . The 107th Division reached the breakthrough at Gouzecourt, the 183rd Division advanced on Épehy.

The battle raged back and forth until that afternoon air was created by the fall of Lempire, Ronssoy, and Templeux le Guérard. The army high command shifted the focus to the left wing of the XXIII. Reserve and right wing of the XIV Army Corps with the aim of promoting the thrust across the Faucon-Roisel line. The bulk of the British 9th Division under General Tudor sacrificed themselves at Gouzeaucourt to keep the route of retreat for the neighboring units to Peronne open. The groups Kathen (Gen. Kdo XXIII. Res. Corps) and Gontard (Gen. Kdo XIV. Res. Corps) attacked the main battle line of the British 16th and 66th Divisions south of it; There was stronger resistance around the intermediate positions, which held up until the afternoon. The British VII. Corps (General Congreve ) fought desperately to maintain the Épehy-Savy- Roupy-Roupy- Veuil-Siez front line . On the evening of the first day of the attack, the 2nd Army stood with its right wing between Flesquières and Ribécourt; the English had voluntarily given up both positions in order to hasten the necessary evacuation of the Cambrai arch. The left wing of the 2nd Army had reached the line La Vacquerie - Gouzeaucourt - east Epéhy - Templeux le Guérard - east Le Verguier.

Northern section attack of 17th Army

General von Below

The day before the attack, March 20, passed quietly with the 17th Army except for weak enemy artillery fire. On the night of March 21, the three Mars divisions, 2nd Guards, 12th Infantry and 26th Infantry Divisions, were brought forward from Douai on the north wing of the army ; the offensive infantry advanced to their starting positions without interference. After the fire from 2,234 guns, which started shortly before 5 a.m., the infantry attack began at 9:40 with 15 divisions in the front and 8 in the second meeting, with 2 divisions in reserve behind them. The Lindquist group (Gen. Kdo. XIV. Res.K. ) started with the 20th Division and 3rd Guard Division in the first and the 39th Division in the second meeting. Together with the VI. Reserve Corps could not break through the second position between St. Léger and Beaumetz because of the unexpectedly tough British resistance. The statements of prisoners, whose XVIII. Army Corps 1200 had brought in indicated that the attack had been completely surprising; the artillery effect was described as overwhelming. The British 3rd Army under General Byng consistently defended the Monchy, Croisilles, Noteuil and Morchies line. The British held out in tunnels and funnels, on railway embankments and in village ruins from the preliminary battles. From English radio messages that had been broadcast since 10 a.m. it emerged that iron resistance was being put in, especially on the Bapaume - Cambrai road, and that the losses were extremely high. The attack of the XVIII. Army Corps, VI. and XIV. Reserve Corps the line between Ecoust-St. My and St. Léger - Noreuil - Doignies crossed; the artillery of the forward divisions was changing position forward. The total weight of the German attack hit the front of the 66th Division, which covered the sector east of Peronne. The 2nd and 9th Lancashire Regiments fought their way back to Puisieux and Gommecourt , losing 736 men (373 dead and 363 injured). The enemy artillery defense position and the second English position between St. Léger and Beaumetz had to be fought hard. The British 25th Division was brought forward from the reserve on the Cambrai-Bapaume road to provide support. The front of the 4th East Lancashire Regiment was attacked from behind and rolled up, the 5th East Lancashire Regiment lost 763 men in the long fighting of retreat. Immediate British counter-attacks were made at Ervillers, Vaulx-Vraucourt and Frémicourt. In the evening, Below's attack in front of the second line was in no man's land; General Byng's right wing had not been attacked. The English had put up unexpectedly strong resistance. Although the German infantry had captured the towns of Lagnicourt, Moreuil , Ecoust and Boursies, the target of Bapaume was still a long way off. At 9 p.m. the XVIII. Army corps with the right wing on the Sensee Bach between Fontaine les Croisilles and St. Léger. The left wing of the XVIII. Army Corps, the VI. Reserve Corps and XIV. Reserve Corps were still in front of the second enemy position St. Léger - Beaumetz, the XI. Army corps between Boursies and Doignies and before Demicourt. The three "Mars divisions" were brought in via Bouchain and made available on both sides of the Sensee brook near Arleux . On the evening of March 21, AOK 17 in St.Amand issued the order that the attack would continue on the 22nd; the main emphasis was to be placed on the left wing to ensure union with the right wing of the more successful 2nd Army.

The second day of the attack March 22nd

The first days of the attack

On the morning of March 22nd, the 17th Army opened the attack on the British second position. The XVIII. Army Corps seized the Mühlenberg north of Croisilles with its right wing ( 6th Bavarian Division ) , but otherwise fell short of expectations. Although Croisilles fell, the northern British held on to the Vraucourt bolt and prevented further advance. Haig ordered General Byng to protect Bapaume from the attacking Lindequist group to hold the Havrincourt- Lesquières line and not to lose contact with the 5th Army, even if further retreat was necessary. The 2nd Army reached the tactical breakthrough between the Gouzeaucourt-Vermand line with the entire front, the infantry regiment No. 15 (Major von Bila) pushed ahead, and the Watter group took Fins. The British V., VII. And XIX. Corps was pushed back west onto the tortilla . The greatest danger for the English now consisted of the impending separation of the British 3rd and 5th Armies at the heights of the Omignon. The 243rd (Württemberg.) Division under General Schippert followed behind the left wing of the 2nd Army and became the corps reserve of Gruppe Gontard (Gen. Kdo. XIV. AK ). During the fighting of the Kathen group in the Epehy area, a British brigade under General Dawson was outflanked by the German 199th Division and 9th Reserve Division .

On the south wing of the 18th Army the day before, under the impression of the great success of the 7th Army, the 211th and 223rd Divisions had been transferred. On the second day of the offensive, the British troops lost their last bases on the front of the attack against the German 18th Army. The Lüttwitz group wrestled with the divisions Beczwarzowski (88th) and Buchau (28th) west of St. Quentin in the Holnonwald with units of the British XVIII. Corps. The divisions of the Webern and Conta groups overran the British 36th and 14th divisions. In the fight with the outnumbered British III. Corps reached the divisions under Below (238th), Leipzig (36th), Dänner (1st Bavarian), Teetzmann (34th) and Eberhardt (37th) the Crozat Canal all along the line. The 103rd Division under General Lepper stormed Fort Vendheuil.

To reinforce the 18th Army, two divisions in the approach ( 52nd Reserve Division and 242nd Division ) were unloaded one after the other on March 22nd . In order to provide support to the German forces on the flank further north, parts of the 238th Division and the 9th Division turned to the north and worked on the flank of the enemy still holding north of the Somme. The 47th Reserve Division under General Eichendorff had carried forward the attack to the west on the left wing of the attack front from the shot town of La Fere, overran two English positions and crossed the Crozat Canal at Tergnier . The British Commanding General Butler could not accept the loss of Le Tergnier if he was to hold the Crozat Line, which was crossed in the south by the German Corps Gayl .

On the evening of March 21st, General Petain had been given top line in defense of the threatened section of the Crozat Canal . The French 125th Division came to the collapsed British III. Corps to help. After Haig's urgent request, Petain sent two more divisions and a cavalry division under General Pellé to this sector. French reserves were brought in endless columns via Noyon to Guiscard and Chauny , the soldiers squatted tightly on the vehicle. The V Corps appeared on the front line without a gun, French helmets suddenly appeared out of thick fog and collided with the Germans in a counterattack.

General Maurice Pelle

General Pelle's forces (1st Cavalry Division, 9th and 125th Divisions) attempted to occupy the Crozat sector on the Le Tergnier-Ham line, the French 22nd Division appeared further north at Pargny on the Somme. The French were thrown at Vouel after a fierce battle . Hutier's corps groups under Lüttwitz, Oetinger, Conta, Webern and the Gayl Corps of the 7th Army crossed the Crozat Canal over the conquered bridgeheads at St. Christ, Ham, St. Simon and Iussy. They threw back the French 5th Division and broke through to Nesle , Golaucourt and the forest of Chauny. The French 125th Division under General Diepold was thrown back to the west at Tergnier.

General Petain already organized the decisive countermeasure: he not only led the 3rd Army under General Humbert from the reserve into battle, but also called the 1st Army from Flanders to the Somme . The French 1st Army under General Debeney was already on the move from the Houthulster Forest to Lorraine to serve as a back-up at Verdun if the Germans launched an attack on the Meuse. Now this army was diverted to the threatened front of the Montdidier- Clermont line in order to stop the advance of the German 18th Army before the Avre. Under the command of Fayolle , the armies of Humbert and Debeney were combined to form an army group to cover the Arras-Amiens line.

The wrestling on March 23rd

The area conquered between March 21 and 23

The opposing front in front of the 17th Army north of Croisilles now gave way. Under the pressure of the German offensive, the English evacuated the front lines and withdrew to new main positions close to Arras. The Germans pushed in and occupied Monchy le Preux. In order to be able to take advantage of this yielding, the three divisions of the OHL reserve (2nd Guard, 12th and 26th Divisions) of the 17th Army were made available. In the afternoon the British 3rd Army also returned north of the Scarpe, and the Germans pushed on to the Gavrelle-Roeux line. On the left wing of the 17th Army, the encirclement of the Cambrai Arch now came into effect. The British had evaded the threatened separation in time. The VI. Reserve Corps ( Borne Group ) gradually gained space to the west near Morchies and threatened to interrupt the Bapaume-Cambrai road. In the section of the XXIII. Reserve Corps (Kathen) at Bouchavesnes the attack of the 13th Division followed, in the second meeting the 18th Division followed. On March 23, the 18th Division came briefly in the front line, as a division order sent them west of Templeux-la-Fosse - in the former area of ​​the Somme battle. Until the German advance on the Ancre came to a standstill, however, the 18th Division was to remain in the second line. Strong English shifts of forces from the Arras area to the south and the appearance of four new, as yet undetermined divisions indicated that the English were already using their reserves from the north in the breakthrough section. The threat to the city of Amiens forced the British to use their reserve forces on a massive scale to close the breach. The south wing of the Byng Army also had to be withdrawn on Bapaume in order not to lose contact with the backflowing 5th Army.

Ludendorff intended to achieve the separation of the English and the French by rapidly advancing on both sides of the Somme: For this purpose, a swing against the Amiens-Montdidier-Noyon line should take place with strong staggering to the left. Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria announced the new focus of attack for his army group in accordance with the specifications of the Supreme Army Command. The 17th Army had to keep its main direction on St. Pol. Strong forces are to be assembled behind the left wing of the 17th Army in order to be able to continue operating on Abbeville . The 17th and 6th Armies, and later the 4th Army in Flanders, were supposed to extend the attack against the English also north of the Somme. The 2nd Army had to advance on both sides of the Somme, take Amiens and keep up with the southern 18th Army.

While the right wing of the 2nd Army encountered strong resistance, the middle of the crossed the valley at Moislains, the left wing reached the Somme on both sides of Péronne . The 18th Army was subordinated to the 5 already added 4 more divisions, so Hutier now operated with a total of 33 divisions. From noon the 18th Army fought the crossings over the Somme at Bethencourt , Ham , and Pithon, the left wing advanced west of the Crozat Canal. The British 5th Army continued their retreat across the Somme and cleared the bridgehead at Peronne. The longest way of retreat was the XVIII. Corps under General Maxse required. On the south wing of the 5th Army between Chauny and Noyon, three divisions of the French 5th Corps without sufficient artillery tried in vain to stop the German attack. The French 9th and 10th Infantry Divisions had arrived on the right wing of the defeated Gough Army, but were carried away by the swift German advance in the general retreat. At Pargny, west and south-west of Ham, German pressure remained. When night fell, the line north of Epenancourt was forced by the Germans, and the break-in across from Pargny to Morchain was extended. To the south of it hung the 20th Division, with its left wing open, all reserves were already exhausted. At Ham, an English counterattack by the 15th (Pioneer) Battalion of the 61st Division delayed the advance.

Fight on the Somme

The German advance tore the seam between the British 3rd and 5th Armies even further. On the night of March 23, the 2nd Guard Reserve Division took Mory, and after further fighting the heavily fortified villages of Beugny, Velu and Hermies also fell. The English units withdrew from one position to the other, fighting stubbornly. At dawn the Germans reached the Lechelle and Le Mesnil-en-Arrouaise line and captured Saillisel , Rancourt and Clery. To the north of Bertincourt, the British Guard Division under Major General Feilding and the 3rd and 31st Divisions held their old positions. The British 17th Division carried out four counter-attacks east of Barastre, the 47th Division withstood the German attacks on Rocquigny until late afternoon, only a German flank attack on Le Transloy forced them to dismantle. To the south, the 9th Division, north of Clery to the Bois de Marrieres, offered valiant resistance. Combles fell in the early afternoon , and the German troops penetrated Lesboeufs via Morval. In view of the situation, the British V and IV Corps were ordered to return to the line Bazentin - Le Sars - Grevillers - Ervillers. The 35th Division under Major General Pinney had returned to Bray-sur-Somme , units of the 1st Cavalry Division still held out at Montauban . The Germans occupied Clery and pushed the British 9th and 21st Divisions back even further. The retreat of the right wing and the center of the British 3rd Army was carried out during the afternoon. The machine gun battalion of the 63rd Division rendered valuable services in the rearguard battles in the Lesboeufs area. Until dark the divisions of the English V Corps had held their line between Bazentin, Eaucourt L'Abbaye and Ligny-Thilloy. The troops of the IV Corps, which were under constant attack, stayed on the line between Le Barke and Ervillers.

The location south of the Somme

Marshal Haig and Pétain met in person in Dury on March 23 at around 4 p.m. Petain assured the deployment of the entire army group under General Fayolle in the threatened western Somme valley. In all, about 20 French divisions were available to take over the part of the attacked front south of Peronne. Marshal Haig made strong forces (including the four Canadian divisions) free from Flanders (British 1st and 2nd Armies), which were to be used for a counterattack at Amiens.

At Peronne the night of March 23rd to March 24th was still comparatively calm; south of the Somme , the greater part of the English defense line along the canal network had been lost. The canal was not a serious obstacle because of the drought, but the trees and undergrowth along the valley provided good cover for the English in defense. In the early morning hours the Germans had crossed the canal at St. Christ and Bethencourt , but were driven out again at short notice by troops of the British 8th and 20th divisions.

General Georges Humbert, Commander in Chief of the French 3rd Army took over the lead between Barisis and Guiscard. The arrival of the 2nd Cavalry Corps and two infantry divisions behind the 5th Corps was expected. The French 1st Army under General Debeney was supposed to take over the defense between Montdidier and Amiens and to consolidate the connection with the British. The repatriation of six divisions of the French 10th Army from the Piavefront in Italy was already under way. Most recently, Haig also visited General Gough and appeased the defeated general in his defeat: “[…] Hubert, you cannot fight on without men, but the 5th Army has already retreated too far, there will be no further retreat. […] “Gough was instructed to hold the Somme Line south of Peronne until the promised help from the French came. At 11 p.m. the British 5th Army was placed under the command of General Fayolles, the Somme between Amiens and Peronne formed the border between French and British command. The British VII Corps, in the north of the Somme, was placed under the command of the 3rd Army.

Intact captured armory from the English

March 24th

On March 24th, Ludendorff had to move the 17th Army's focus, originally directed at St. Pol, further south, to Doullens . Below's troops were stranded at the bastions of eastern Arras. Petain combined the 1st and 3rd Armies under Fayolle's command to form a new Army Group. After the failure of the Flemish offensive, the 1st Army was sent from the Houthulster Forest to Lorraine to serve as a back-up in Verdun if Ludendorff attacked the Meuse. Now she appeared on the Montdidier-Clermont line in order to prevent the further advance of the German 18th Army on the Avre between Amiens and Paris .

Battle of Bapaume

The German 2nd Army crossed the Somme, stood at the gates of Péronne and reached the Arras-Albert railway line. The Germans crossed the old blood places of the summer battle , until evening the cities of Bapaume , Sailly-Saillisel , Nesle , Guiscard and Chauny were in German hands. Heavy fighting took place on the northern section of the front between Curlu-Equancourt and Mory. The British 42nd Division under General Solly-Flood fought its way back to Thilloy between Favreuil and Ervillers. The withdrawal of the British 47th Division (Gorringe) took place via Combles on Contalmaison on Le Mesnel, on the right the 9th Division (Tudor) went back to Bauchavesnes, the 63rd Division to Le Transloy. After about 50 kilometers of advance, the German offensive in the north on the Ancre came to a halt. The German 17th Army was threatened on the right flank by British counter-attacks in front of Arras and got stuck at the bastions in the eastern apron of Arras.

The 18th Army was still advancing unstoppably from the Crozat Canal onto the Roye- Noyon line . At Chaulnes the French kept in touch with the British 19th Division. General Gough tried desperately to set up a counterattack with four British brigades still intact in association with the French 22nd Division against the Somme bridgehead at Pargny . The left wing of the Gough Army was taken over by the 3rd Army, the rubble of the center and the right wing of the British 5th Army went back to Amiens through the spaces between the French rescue forces . Humbert's divisions were pushed back over the Chaulnes-Roye-Chauny line onto the Moreuil- Montdidier - Lassigny line. The French V Corps under General Pelle was repulsed and thrown back to the Divette via Guiscard and Chauny ; it returned to Sennpigny via Roye. Petain tried in vain to build a new front in front of Roye . The commander of the French 2nd Cavalry Corps, General Robillot collected the remains of the 22nd and 62nd Divisions and formed a locking bolt on the Mayencourt-Buvenchy line.

The 7th Army had to detach two further divisions, the 3rd Bavarian and the 6th Reserve Division, from their front, which were also deployed with the advancing 18th Army from March 25th. The German 7th Army began to advance on the Oisegrund and descend past Saint-Gobain into the Ailette valley. The left wing of the still firm French front saw itself overtaken by this at the mouth of the Aisne.

Attack over the Ancre

Withdrawal of heavy British artillery

On the night of March 24th to 25th, the English front at Sapignies was torn open again. New German attacks followed around noon, which gradually threw the British IV Corps back. At Courcelette , German forces pushed into a new gap. The British 2nd Division started a counterattack between Ligny-Thilloy, the 19th Division successfully defended between Grevillers and Bihucourt. Shortly after sunrise, the German attacks east of the Arras-Bapaume road between Favreuil and Ervillers were repulsed, and a counterattack by the British 42nd Division briefly retook the village of Sapignies. By nightfall the German vanguard had fought for the right bank of the Ancre north of Miraumont and, pressing against Serre and Puisieux-au-Mont , was driving the inner wings of the British IV and V Corps apart. In view of this situation, IV Corps had to retreat to the Bucquoy- Ablainzevelle line during the night and in the morning . The remaining divisions of the English 3rd Army returned north of the Somme via Bray-sur-Somme and repositioned themselves between Beaumont and Hamel along the west bank of the Ancre . Several divisions of the German XIV Reserve Corps moved towards the source of the Ancre. The British 26th Infantry Division managed to close a small gap, the Germans lacked the necessary artillery here, and the 17th Army's offensive was stalled for the time being.

Further successes on March 25th

Procedure of the German Inf.Reg. 15 by the battlefield on the Somme that was troubled in 1916

March 25 brought further successes to the German 18th Army. The Germans searched for weak spots in the opposing front until dusk, after they were found, they pushed hard and forced the English troops to retreat further. The Germans had continued their advance south and west of Guiscard and reached Noyon. The displaced British troops in the east of the city were ordered to retreat south across the Oise. The situation even became critical at the seam line between the 3rd and 5th Armies. The left wing of the British VII Corps had returned to the Canal du Nord in the course of the morning from Nurlu on the line north of Moislains . As a result of this movement, a new gap in the V Corps had emerged, which the Germans quickly discovered. Despite energetic efforts by the 47th Division (Major General Gorringe ) and a brigade of the 2nd Division, the gap could not be closed again. Under German pressure, the right wing of the V Corps had to retreat south to Ytres and later to the area east of Rocquigny. In the evening Guiscard had been captured by the 18th Army, and in the early morning hours of March 25th, the wooded foothills northeast of Noyon were reached. The position of the French batteries north of the Oise Canal was endangered and had to be withdrawn across the Canal at Appily. Parts of the English 18th Division (General Lee) retook the village of Baboeuf in a counterattack.

At the front of the 2nd Army, the English 9th Division gave up Le Bucquiere and Beugny after a long battle in the evening. In place of the German 18th, the 199th Division was pulled forward. Six German attacks were repulsed by the 124th Brigade of the British 41st Division (Major-General ST Lawford) opposite the places Vaulx-Braucourt. The 40th Division (Major-General John Ponsonby ) took Mory back in the course of the afternoon by successful counter-attacks, the 31st Division (Major General RJ Bridgford) rejected the attacks of the two German divisions over St. Leger with heavy losses. After heavy fighting, the divisions of VII Corps were pushed back west of Peronne over the line of the Tortille River on the heights at Bouchavesnes and to the south by Sailly-Saillisel .

Retreat behind the Somme, formation of Carey's Force

British Blocking Association

George Sandeman Carey

In the course of the night French troops still holding were withdrawn north of the Oise above Etepigny, from where the new front now ran through Noyon - Guiscard - Libermont. Between the Somme and Oise, the fighting started again in the morning in thick fog. In the course of the morning the enemy was pushed back to Chauny by the 18th Army . The British III, pushed to the south. Corps came under the command of the French 3rd Army that day.

Field Marshal Haig, after consulting the High Command of the 1st and 2nd Armies, General Horne and General Plumer, released new reserves, and the Canadian corps was pulled out of Flanders for a counterattack and directed to Amiens. The gap between the British XVIII. and XIX. Corps at Nesle , forced the French and British troops back to the heights on the south bank of the Ingon . South of it, the Germans crossed the canal at Libermont and pushed the XIX. Corps back towards Chaulnes and Barleux . In view of the German progress on the right bank of the Somme west of Peronne, the British had to fall back on the Hattencourt - Estrees - Frize line. The remnants of the 20th and 36th Divisions were in retreat via Eaucourt and Cugny, the open flanks were still in danger. The 39th Division counterattacked at Biaches to cover the retreat. The remaining gap between the British XVIII. and XIX. Corps west of Nesle became the 61st Brigade from Liancourt Wood, where the 36th Division had previously defended. The brigade halted the advance of the enemy until the remnants of the 20th Division could return to Roye unmolested on the morning of March 26th. The retreat at Cugny was covered by a counter-attack by the 6th Cavalry Brigade. Sacrificing units of the 2nd and 3rd Cavalry Divisions under Major General Harmon supported French and English infantry in the retreat fighting in the Guiscard area. The defense of the mounted troops was invaluable in preventing the impending collapse of the Font. General Gough gathered the remains of the 20th Division between Fouilloy and Aubigny, about 2,000 men - mainly engineers (including 500 Americans) and miners under the temporary command of Major General Grant , chief engineer of the 5th Army. Because of his absence, his deputy, Brigadier General Carey, was informed on the afternoon of the 26th that he had to take command of a blocking group instead. The group known as “Carey's Force” was able to close the dangerous gap between the 5th and 3rd British Armies between Hamel and the forest of Bangard by holding out fighting for three days.

March 26th

The two northern German armies, 17th and 2nd, were no longer making good progress, while 18th Army was able to continue its advance in a fan-like manner on all sides. Since that morning, heavy fighting raged at Hattencourt and Herbécourt during the German advance on Amiens. General von Marwitz's troops stormed the heights of Contalmaison . The 3rd Marine Division stormed the forest of Mametz , the 54th Reserve Division Pozieres, the 13th, 25th and 199th Divisions took the heights of Maurepas and Clery. The Watter group took Estricourt, Manancourt, Rocquigny and Bouchavesnes. The British under General Grant held the old lines of defense between Amiens Mezieres, Marcelcave and Hamel. Except for General Carey's Force, there were no reinforcements of any kind behind the division, which had been in continuous combat since the beginning of the battle. On the line Le Quesnoy - Rosieres - Proyart the connection with the right wing of the 3rd Army at Bray was to be sought. At Colincamps there was a gap in the front which the newly arriving parts of the New Zealand Division tried to close on the Hamel-Serre line. In the early afternoon troops recaptured New Zealand forces under Maj. General Russell Colincamps, while a brigade of the Australian 4th Division under Maj. Gen. Sinclair-Maclagan closed the gap between Hébuterne and Bucquoy. For the first time, new British "Whippet" tanks , which were lighter and faster than the Mark IV, were used here. At around 1:00 p.m., twelve Whippets of the 3rd Tank Battalion launched a counterattack. Colincamps was reached by the Germans around noon, with two battalions of the British 51st (Highland) Division defending here . The German attacks at and north of Bucquoy were repulsed with great loss.

Doullens Conference

On March 26th, the military leaders of the Entente held a crisis conference in Doullens . Because of the lack of coordination between the French Army Commander General Philippe Pétain and the British Commander Field Marshal Douglas Haig , an agreement has now been reached to appoint General Ferdinand Foch as sole Commander-in-Chief on the Western Front. The conference was attended by General Pétain, President Raymond Poincaré , Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau and General Maxime Weygand on the French side; Minister Winston Churchill , Lord Alfred Milner, Field Marshal Haig and Generals Henry Wilson, Herbert Lawrence and Archibald Montgomery were the British representatives. He is said to have underlined Foch's will to persevere as follows: “I would keep fighting non-stop. I would fight in front of Amiens, I would fight in Amiens and I would fight behind Amiens. I would always fight and never surrender. "

Battle of Rosieres and the Avre

Heavy German A7V chariot crosses Roye, March 26th

The new army border between the German 2nd and 18th Armies was about six miles south of the Somme in Péronne. South of the Somme, the fighting took place near Chuignolles on the Chuignes-Foucourt road, between the Oise and Somme the French defended 29 kilometers of the front, the British held 31 kilometers. Troops of the German IX. Army corps had occupied Roye . A new gap had opened up between the left wing of the French at Roye and the right wing of the British XIX. Corps opened at Fransart. In the Battle of Rosières the British XVIII. Corps under General Maxse to maintain the front. South of Harbonnieres, the British 8th Rosieres Division held against the German attacks. A successful British counter-attack with the 2nd Battalion and the 22nd (Pioneer) Battalion, supported by the 50th Division under Major General HC Jackson, was set up southwest of Proyart . A counterattack by the British 6th Division over Framerville and east and north of Harbonnières failed. At Arvillers , troops of the British 24th, 30th and 20th divisions were able to hold their positions during the day, although their right flank was bypassed at Davenscourt and the Germans managed to break through on Montdidier . To fill the gap, the remnants of four divisions in the area northwest of Roye had lined up to re-establish the connection to the French Corps Robillot. In order to fill the gap between the French and the British, the worn-out British 36th and 30th Divisions, which had already been withdrawn the day before, were sent into battle again; they fought defensive battles near and north of Andechy . The valiant resistance at Andechy up to the afternoon of March 27th played an important role in preventing the German breakthrough. At the end of the day, the British troops south of the Somme were in contact with the French on the Guerbigny - Rouvroy-en-Santerre - Proyart line.

The fighting on March 27th

The German attack simultaneously threatened the Doullens-Amiens line and the Amiens-Paris road. The focus for the 2nd Army was shifted south of the Somme to Amiens. The German attack reached the Albert-Roye line. The German advance between Ancre and Somme reached the Morlancourt-Sailly line. Here the strength of the defense began to grow, the strength of the 17th Army was flagged. In pursuit battles the troops of the 3rd Marine Division , the 9th, 50th and 54th Reserve Divisions threw Byng's troops at Contalmaison , crossed the Ancre and penetrated Albert on March 27th . The places Framerville, Proyart and Morcourt fell into German hands. Parts of the British 1st Cavalry Division crossed the river and occupied Bouzencourt. ANZAC units advanced on the Albert-Amiens road and on both sides of the Roman road on Villers-Bretonneux and counter-attacked hundreds of tanks.

General Foch tried to stop the Hutier rush on the Avre, on the Matz and in front of Lassigny . The German 18th Army swerved against the Avre sector. The 6th Bavarian Division and the 6th Bavarian. Reserve Division intervened as new reserves on the front line. The French 56th Division defended the Dancourt-Popincourt-Tilloloy line. The 22nd Division had to give up Grivillers and Marquivillers and go back to Montdidier. General Humbert's resistance at Chauny was broken and the French were pushed back over the Divette to the Matz. To strengthen the 18th Army, the Jäger Division , the 14th Division , and the 76th and 80th Reserve Divisions intervened in the fighting. Defeated, Humbert's corps flooded back to Montdidier after the loss of Rosiere. The British 58th Division under General Cator maintained contact with the French 125th Division under General Diepold at Montdidier. The French were supported and received by advancing reinforcements.

Mars attack on Arras and further fighting on March 28th

The area conquered between March 23 and 28

On that day, the Germans made great efforts to get the faltering offensive moving again, the "Mars attack" of the 17th Army should break through the valley of the Scarpe to the west near Arras. The attack required the deployment of the 23rd Res. Division , the 41st and 187th Divisions , behind which the 2 Guard and 204th Infantry Divisions were deployed as reserves. Had this failed attack had been dispensed with, four further attack divisions (26th, 54th and 200th divisions as well as 2nd Bavarian division ) would have been available for the main attack south of Amiens.

After a heavy bombardment, three fresh German divisions broke in the first wave on the northern bank of the Scarpe against the line Vimy - Bailleul - St. Laurent-Blangy. However, the attacked positions were held by the British 4th and 56th Divisions (Major-General Matheson and Major-General Dudgeon ). Four German divisions attacked south of the Scarpe , two of them against Bucquoy and the heights off Arras. This attack was repulsed by the British 3rd and 15th Divisions (Major General Reed ). Even further south between Hebuterne and Dernancourt, only local attacks by the Germans took place. A second German attack north of the Scarpe that started in the late afternoon was also repulsed at all points. The British 42nd Division repulsed attacks from Ablainzevelle, advances through Bucquoy were repulsed by the 62nd Division and a brigade of the 4th Australian Division. The intervention of the right wing of the British 1st Army with the XIII. Corps under Lieutenant General Beauvoir de Lisle , provided the 3rd Army with additional support.

In the section of the 2nd Army, the British 17th Division stopped the Germans on the Mametz- Montauban line . The British 47th Division stood at Pozières with the 37th Brigade , their 141st Brigade covered at Senlis. The German 107th Division attacked the right wing of the British 47th Division. The 141st Brigade of the 47th Division fortified the La Boiselle line, at Bouzincourt the defensive front of the 63rd Division (General CE Lawrie) joined.

The advance of the 18th Army east of Montdidier was stopped by counterattacks by the French 1st Army under General Marie-Eugène Debeney . The inner wings of the 2nd and 18th Armies were combined to attack the Villers-Bretonneux-Montdidier line. The German III. Army Corps pushed down with the 88th Division under General von Beczwarzowski on the Moreuil bridgehead, the 50th Division under General von Engelbrechten advanced via Rouvroye to La Neuville. In the Moreuil area, the 133rd Infantry Division and the 4th Cavalry Division under General Mesplé , the 22nd Infantry Division and the 62nd Infantry Division under General Robillot , the 163rd Infantry Division in the Hangest-en-Santerre area defended Moreuil. The 1st Guards Division took Erches and Saulchey and advanced against Pierrepont, the 28th Division under Lieutenant General von Buchau threw the enemy northeast of Montdidier, the 206th Division under General von Etzel stormed against Montdidier. The 9th Division took Faverolles and interrupted the Montdidier- Rollot -Ressons road, the 10th Reserve Division under General Dallmer took Rollot, and the 10th, 45th, 231st, 36th and 33rd Divisions took the Rollot-Lassigny line and tried to break through to the south on both banks of the Matz and to encompass the French corps Pelle on the Divette. When the resistance of the French 3rd Army stiffened near Lassigny on the heights of the Divette, the Germans tried to outflank its left wing. French cavalry defended the approaches to Montdidier, between Lassigny and Montdidier hunters threw themselves into battle.

March 29

Marie-Eugène Debeney, Commander in Chief of the 1st Army deployed near Montdidier

On March 29, the full force of the "Michael Mars attack" was concentrated north of the Somme. Ludendorff gave the order to increase the pressure of the 2nd Army south of the Somme, which was reinforced with two divisions of the 17th Army for the advance on the Noye-Thory line. The 17th Army was thus robbed of most of its attacking power. The axis of the breakthrough of the 2nd Army ran directly on Amiens. The focus was shifted from the Breteuil-Tertigng line (southwest) to Amiens-Moreuil. From March 28th to 30th, the 2nd Army was assigned nine additional divisions (including 2 position divisions and 6 not yet deployed attack divisions - 5 from the 17th Army, 1 from the 6th Army, 3 from the OHL Reserve). The 23rd Reserve Division appeared at Demuin, the 52nd Reserve Division north of Montdidier, the 51st Reserve Division at Montdidier, the 242nd Division at Boulogne la Graffe and the 7th Reserve Division at Plemont. Nine divisions and a lot of artillery were withdrawn from the 17th Army - the enemy in front of their front had meanwhile grown to 28 divisions. Even south of the Somme, most of the 18th Army halted its advance because of its concentration on Amiens. Only Hutier's right wing, together with the left wing of the 2nd Army, remained in the advance over the Avre, but achieved little gain in terrain. The 18th Army tried with its middle to reach the Ferrieres-Tricot-Mery-Ressons line, but came more and more into the area of ​​enemy counterattacks. Only her right wing remained in connection with the left wing of the 2nd Army in the advance towards the Avre and managed to straighten the front from Marcelcave to Plessier. Behind the left wing, reinforcements were to be concentrated in the southern section of the army to support the advance of the right wing of the 7th Army over the Oise.

Instructions from the German leadership

Around noon on March 29th, General von Kuhl , the chief of staff of the Army Group, Crown Prince Rupprecht , discussed his concerns with the chief of operations, Major von Bartenwerffer, about the planned Operation Georgette , which was to take place after eight days.

In the afternoon, Ludendorff made the following telephony requesting the continuation of the operations:

“The attack south of the Somme towards Amiens and via Montdidier is to be continued by the left wing of the 2nd Army, the 18th Army and the right wing of the 7th Army. A particularly strong group of forces is required behind the 18th and 2nd Armies. The Supreme Army Command will lead its forces there, and the 17th Army will have to move additional forces to the 2nd Army. The attack south of the Somme is to be joined by the 2nd Army north of it with sharp pressure on Amiens, and later also the left wing of the 17th Army. "

At 6 o'clock in the afternoon another instruction followed from the army command: “Despite the efforts that have been made by the inner wings of the 2nd and 18th Armies, the attack via the Noye must continue. The left wing of the 2nd Army went with full force to the Amiens-St. To advance Fuscien-Ailly, right wing of the 18th Army on La Raloise about 6 kilometers south of Ailly. "

The turning point on March 30th

Situation at the end of March 1918

On March 30, the battle flared up again. The 17th Army tried once more to gain space southwest of Arras, but found Haig's reserves pouring in from Flanders and the camps of St. Omer and Doullens and marching on the Arras-Doullens-Amiens road.

The left wing of the 2nd Army attacked Amiens south of the Roman road with all forces. General von der Marwitz attacked at Albert and on the Römerstraße with partial strength in order to seize Villers-Bretonneux, which protected the eastern glacis of Amiens. General Gontard broke the English position at Hamel, but then met Canadians and Australians whom General Rawlinson had brought in via Doullens. They met the already strengthened opponent in front of Villers-Bretonneux, attacked Hamel as well, but were turned away there. The Germans climbed the Avre heights and were tied up on the plateau between Avre and Noye. English and French battalions defend the entrances to Amiens.

The French 1st Army defended the Montdidier-Moreuil-Hangard section. General Debeney found strong support on the Avre Heights and on the west bank of the Luce, which flows into the Avre northwest of Moreuil. The Germans gained greater ground in the forest of Hangard . The 243rd division (Wuerttemberg) transferred to the Lüttwitz group (III. AK) took part in the enforcement of the Avre crossing at Moreuil. After the heights north of Moreuil had also fallen, the 2nd Army had to surrender four fresh divisions ( 2nd Guard , 2nd Bavarian, 204th Inf - and 53rd Reserve Division ) to the 18th Army. Meanwhile, the 2nd Army reinforced its own left wing south of the Somme with the not yet deployed 54th Division and the 9th Bavarian Reserve Division as well as two divisions already involved in the fighting (25th and 228th Division ), as well as those of the 17th Army transferred to 24th Reserve Division .

The gap between the armies of England and France was now closed. The French 9th Division under General Maurice Gamelin covered at Noyon, where the French II Cavalry Corps under General Robillot defended, north of the Luce, the British 66th Division started a counterattack with the 39th Division at Demuin. The German 7th Army took control of the Oise crossings south of Chauny on the southern section.

British heavy artillery ready for defense

The offensive ended at the beginning of April

On March 31, the Allied armies under Humbert, Debeney and Rawlinson went over to counter-attacks after the failed German advances. The focus of the attacks was concentrated south of the Somme, all British attacks against the front line of the 18th Army west of the Avre were repulsed. At the beginning of April the battle covered the whole front from Arras to Lassigny, between the Somme and the Avre, in the line Corbie-Villers-Bretonneux-Hangard-Moreuil-Grivesnes-Montdidier again for the actual breakthrough battle. The 1st Guard Division stormed the hilltop village of Grivesnes with heavy casualties, the 1st Guard Regiment advanced against the castle there. By the time Below's troops were finally able to take Monchy, Haig's defense was already strong enough to keep the Arras-Hebuterne line ironclad. The fighting on the Scarpe had subsided ineffectively, the fighting had again been transferred to the Avre and the Luce.

The 243rd division (Wuerttemberg) transferred in the area of ​​the Lüttwitz group (III. AK) participated in the enforcement of the Avre crossing at Moreuil. After the heights north of Moreuil had fallen, the 2nd Army had to surrender four fresh divisions (2nd Guard, 2nd Bavarian, 204th Inf and 53rd Reserve Division ) to the 18th Army. Meanwhile, the 2nd Army reinforced its own left wing south of the Somme with the not yet deployed 54th Division and the 9th Bavarian Reserve Division as well as two divisions already involved in the fighting (25th and 228th Division), as well as those of the 17th Army transferred to 24th Reserve Division. General Debeney's divisions fight for Moreuil and toss and turn to and fro along the Avre slopes with Hofacker's divisions. Hutier's right wing advanced over the glacis which rose from Montdidier to the Malpart-Grivesnes- Cantigny- Villers-Tournelle-Welles contour line .

Battle for Villers-Bretonneux

On April 4th the last attacks of the German 2nd Army in the direction of Amiens were initiated by 6 divisions in the first place. The British XIX. Corps held the line east of Villers-Bretonneux. From north to south, the Allied front was defended by the 14th Division, the Australian 35th Infantry Battalion and the 18th Division. Ludendorff added further artillery to the Marwitz army and renewed the battle on April 4 between Corbie and Moreuil. In the morning the English 14th Division was pushed back by the 228th Division. The line west of Hamel was reinforced by the arrival of the Australian 15th Brigade. The Australians withstood the attacks of the 9th Bavarian Reserve Division, the English 18th Division, the Guard Replacement Division and the 19th Division. In the afternoon, however, after the 14th Division had withdrawn, they were forced to retreat, and the 18th Division also fell back further. The Germans were close to Villers-Bretonneux and the city seemed to be falling. The crisis was overcome by counter-attacks by the Australian Infantry Battalion No. 36 under Col. J. Milne and Colonel Goddard (35th Battalion). The English brigadier general, Perciman Cavey, gathered dispersed soldiers, depot battalions, mitrailleurs, sappers and earthworkers and intercepted the thrust of Gontard's corps on the south bank of the Somme near Corbie . It was already too late for a successful German breakthrough, the barrier that General Fayolle had set up could no longer be broken. The earth walls, provided with obstacles and studded with artillery and machine guns, withstood every attempt. The attack on Villers-Bretonneux was the last significant German attack, and further attempts to conquer Amiens were abandoned. The operation Michael was canceled on April 6, 1918 Ludendorff command and return to the trench warfare passed.

Follow-up: Archangel attack

Ludendorff had to set up four more offensives as soon as possible because of the signs of deterioration among the troops. By shifting forces, an attempt was made to create a local preponderance in Flanders and the Noyon area at the new attack sites. During the Imperial Battle , the north wing of the 7th Army followed the 18th Army in the area west of La Fere on the Oise. Another attack was postponed due to the lack of troops. The wedge-shaped front ledge gave the Germans the opportunity to attack the French on both sides from the north-west and from the east.

On April 6th, after the Imperial Battle came to an end, the “ Archangel attack ” was carried out. A new German attack by the right wing of the 7th Army was scheduled in the Noyon-Chauny area; it had the primary task of securing the still open southern flank of the 18th Army. On the right, the 8th Army Corps under General von Schoeler with the 5th and 75th Reserve Divisions and the 223rd Division was assigned. On the left General Wichura led his VIII Reserve Corps, the 222nd and 241st Divisions, to attack. In addition, three fresh attack divisions ( 30th and 227th Division and 14th Res. Division ) were used. The Schoeler group attacked at Chauny and La Fere across the Oise , while the VIII. Reserve Corps attacked from the east.

On April 6th at 3:30 in the morning the German artillery opened fire. The heights of Coucy-le-Château-Auffrique were the ultimate goal of the limited offensive. The attack against the heights of Amigny was successful, followed by the crossing of the Oise at Chauny. On the afternoon of April 8, the attackers reached the river. The German artillery followed the infantry through wooded ravines in search of suitable positions from which they could support the further advance. The VIII. Corps took Chauny and threw 2 pontoon bridges over the Oise, fended off a counterattack and formed the new front line on the Abbecourt-Bichancourt-Sinceny line. The VIII Reserve Corps stormed the heights at Amigny and occupied the forest of Coucy. The rest of the forest fell until evening, when a line was reached that ran from Champs over the Ailette to Folembray to Fresne. Halfway through the forest, the attack reached the Chauny-Barisis railway line. The Oise-Aisne Canal was reached by April 9th. This unexpectedly quick success brought about 900 prisoners of war and a gain in terrain of 10 km wide and 6 km deep.

Balance sheet

The losses in Operation Michael amounted to 239,800 dead and wounded on the German side and about 254,700 dead, wounded and missing on the Entente side. The German casualties are given in the medical report on the German army as follows: In the period from March 21, 1918 to April 10, 1918, including the attack by the 7th Army, almost 90 divisions with 1,386,585 soldiers were involved. The German losses amounted to: 239,558 men, 35,163 dead, 181,694 wounded and 22,701 missing, plus 64,192 sick people later. At the beginning of April the Georgette offensive began in Flanders , the 6th Army tried to break through towards Armentieres. The German casualties from March 21st to April 30th, including the losses during the Fourth Battle of Flanders, amounted to 348,300 soldiers. The troops of the Entente lost 328,000 soldiers in the same period, of which the French 92,004 soldiers and the British 236,300. Man. More than 90,000 prisoners and 1,100 guns fell into German hands.

According to the British Official History (1935) of Brigadier General James E. Edmonds , Major-General HR Davies and Lieutenant Colonel RGB Maxwell-Hyslop, the Allies lost about 255,000 people, the British had 177,739 dead, wounded and missing. The British 5th Army lost 90,882 and the 3rd Army 78,860 soldiers. The largest losses had the 36th (Ulster) Division with 7,310, the (Irish) 16th Division with 7,149 and the 66th (2 East Lancashire) Division with 7,023 men. All three formations were broken up and had to be pulled from the front. Six other divisions lost more than 5,000 soldiers.

Martin Middlebrook wrote in 1978 that on the first day of the attack, March 21, with 31 deployed divisions, the German losses were 39,929 men and the British casualties were 38,512 soldiers. Middlebrook gives in his work the British casualties up to April 5 at 160,000 men, of which 22,000 dead, 75,000 prisoners and 65,000 wounded. The French lost around 80,000 and the German attackers 250,000 soldiers during the same period.

Evans puts the Allied casualties at 254,800 men, including many trained storm troops, 1,300 rifles, 2,000 machine guns and 200 tanks fell into the hands of the Germans. The British lost 177,739 men, of whom 77,000 were captured, the Americans who were less involved in the fighting had lost 77 men, the French 77,000 men, of whom 17,000 were captured by the enemy.

literature

• Reichsarchiv: The World War 1914–1918 , Volume XIV, ES Mittler und Sohn, Berlin 1944
• The second battle of the somme 1918 , Michelin & Cie, Clermont-Ferrand
• Arthur Conan Doyle: A History of the great war - The British Campain in France and Flanders (online)
• Randal Gray: Kaiserschlacht 1918: The Final German Offensive , Osprey Campaign Series 11, Osprey, London 1991, ISBN 1-85532-157-2 .
• Gerhard P. Groß : The end of the First World War and the stab in the back legend (= wars of modernity). Reclam-Verlag, Ditzingen 2018, ISBN 978-3-15-011168-0 .
• Christian Haller: The "Michael Offensive" in the spring of 1918 - a material battle and its military journalistic perception , in: Christian Meierhofer / Jens Wörner (ed.): Material battles . The First World War and its representation resources in literature, journalism and popular media 1899-1929 (writings of the Erich Maria Remarque Archive 30), Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2015, ISBN 978-3-8471-0455-1 , pp. 219-265 .
• Martin Middlebrook: The Kaiser's Battle: March 21, 1918. The First Day of the German Spring Offensive. Penguin, London 1983, ISBN 0-14-005278-X .
• Christian Th. Müller : Company Michael. The prelude to the German spring offensive in 1918 . Military history 1/2018, pp. 14-17.
• Peter Pedersen: Villers-Bretonneux. (Part of the Bettleground Europe series ), Pen & Sword Military, Barnsley 2013.

Web links

• Operation Michael on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website
• Reports from the German headquarters 1914–1918: The March Battle on both sides of the Somme
• https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/wissen/geschichte/id_83412016/deutsche-fruehjahrsoffensive-1918-setzt-buchstaeblich-alles-auf-eine-karte-.html

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Wolfgang Foerster : Graf Schlieffen and the World War , 1921, pp. 88–89, ISBN 3-95580-411-9 , 9783955804114.
2. ↑ Wolfgang Foerster: Graf Schlieffen and the World War, 1921, p. 102.
3. ↑ Wolfgang Foerster: Graf Schlieffen and the World War, 1921, p. 108.
4. ↑ Wolfgang Foerster: Graf Schlieffen and the World War, ES Mittler Berlin 1921, p. 110.
5. ↑ ^{a b} Wolfgang Foerster: Graf Schlieffen and the World War, 1921, p. 113.
6. ↑ Spencer Tucker (Ed.): The Encyclopedia of World War I. A Political, Social and Military History . ABC-Clio Verlag, Santa Barbara 2005, ISBN 1-85109-420-2 , p. 1041.
7. ^ Medical report on the German army in the world wars 1914/1918, III. Volume, Berlin 1934, p. 57 ff.